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5 minutes with Zelina Rebeiro

What are the 3 things you love most in life?
Family, friends, new adventures/experiences.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Ha! An archaeologist, this was at a very young age, I basically liked digging up the garden (much to my parents' dismay) in the hope to find amazing pottery but then I would find a worm or a spider and run back inside. I was always interested in the story of what I was finding and spent time wondering about its journey to its resting place.

What is your earliest memory?
This is a super hazy one but it's being in a pram, it was raining and I just remember looking out watching the rain bouncing off the plastic sheeting.

What makes you happy?
Baby animals, one on one deep conversations till stupid o'clock in the morning, Anatomie Studio, nature and flowers, dancing, warm weather, red sweets, tea and chocolate, Guyanese curry and roti, blasting music, yoga, travelling, having a good old laugh with friends and family and to top it all off a Sloanes dry gin martini with a twist. Boom.

What makes you angry?
Injustice, ignorance, selfishness and the ability that humans have to cripple and destroy others without a second glance or care.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Sitting outside early in the morning with a note book and one of those pint glasses with the handles filled with tea... possibly with a chocolate something... It is never too early for something sweet.

Which play changed your life?
Oh gosh that's too hard to pick! I am a huge fan of the works of Chekov and Ibsen, they both really have such a gift in being able to portray the fragility of humans. I think learning that as a starting point for understanding anyone in life or as a character is one of the most important things. The images from when I first read some of the text echo around my brain still.

What’s exciting you about joining The Company?
To be able to spend six months delving into drastically different texts and working with the same lovely group of people, all developing, learning and growing together. Getting to work with a fantastic creative team - this is special, this is the theatre I grew up with, where all the magic began for me, I am ecstatic and honoured to be a part of the company.

What are you looking forward to doing when you’re (back) in Liverpool next year?
Taking a walk along the docks, going back and seeing some of the gorgeous buildings in our city, spending some time exploring, the city visually has changed so much since I last lived here though the heart of it still remains the same. I'm excited to come home!

Also I'm kind of looking forward to the simple things like saying hello to people in the morning and them saying hello back... You really don't get that everywhere, it's the simple things in life!

What was your first experience of the Everyman?
There was always a hubbub of excitement for me surrounding the theatre even walking past it when I was a child. It was something mystical and magical to me. I remember perching my little bum on the edge of my seat for the first time and being amazed by the magic world that surrounded me.

If you could invite anyone (dead or alive) for a drink in the bar who would it be and why?
I would really like to meet my Dad's Mum, unfortunately I was never able to meet her before she passed away. She was a tiny Chinese woman who lived in South America with super long hair who was a trained nurse. I also believe she loved to kick back, put her feet up and relax with a beer. Oh and she also loved to dance and dress up - I have a pair of half made crazy bright pink sparkly crocheted trousers that she never finished making.

That is my kind of woman I would have loved to have known her! So I will have a drink with my Grandma please!

What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned as an actor or the best advice received?
The most valuable lesson I have learnt as an actor has been those you learn as a human, just to be as kind, as truthful and as open as you can be. If you approach things this way there will never be a wrong choice or a missed opportunity because every decision you make will have always been informed and therefore would have cost you something. Perhaps that is not the easiest way to approach things but I believe strongly in investing fully into everything, putting your heart and pride on the line even if it hurts a little sometimes, this is what enables us to grow, develop and learn.